Kate Brown and Jack Stucker have been chosen for prestigious fellowships from the Independence Foundation in 2013.

The students received two of just three fellowships awarded for 2013 by the foundation, which aims to support “some of the best and brightest law school graduates” who pursue careers that provide legal services to poor and disadvantaged people in the Philadelphia area.

“It’s very gratifying that our students got two of the three fellowships this year,” said Rashida West, associate director of government and public interest law in the law school’s Career Strategies Office. “Kate and Jack have been dedicated public-interest students since day one, when they arrived at the law school. From the very beginning, they had a strong sense of what they wanted to do.”

Starting in September, Brown will work with Friends of Farmworkers to incorporate immigration legal services into the organization’s practice and help protect migrant workers who complain about wage theft, sexual assault or other violations of their rights from facing retaliation.

Through his fellowship, Stucker will join Regional Housing Legal Services, working on real-estate transactions and contract negotiations related to an initiative to develop a network of new resources aimed at reducing homelessness in Philadelphia.

The generous fellowships will cover Brown and Stucker's compensation and employment benefits for at least one year and assist with repaying school loans.

In November, Stucker received an Outstanding Law Student Service Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Public Interest Section.

After her 1L year, Brown received a Peggy Brown Fellowship, which supported her work with Friends of Farmworkers for 10 weeks in 2011.